Lamont raises a number of issues in comparing government and private sector pay — but overlooks the fact that each of the issues raised are actually dealt with in the study.

The study relies on data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. It finds that government employees in Canada (federal, provincial and local) receive, on average, 10.6 per cent higher wages than comparable workers in the private sector in similar positions. The wage premium is in addition to the more generous non-wage benefits — pensions, early retirement, job security — that the government sector also enjoys.

Lamont is correct in suggesting that a simple comparison between the wages received by government and private-sector employees would be misleading. But had he actually read our study, he would have realized that’s not what the study does.

Instead, the study uses common statistical techniques to control for relevant factors to ensure the comparison is between workers with similar characteristics and types of jobs. Each of the factors that Lamont raises — gender, occupation and size of the establishment — are all controlled for (or, in the case of self-employment, excluded from the analysis). In addition, the study accounts for other factors Lamont neglects to mention, such as age, education and job tenure.

Indeed, if these factors are not accounted for, the government wage premium would be much larger: 34.4 per cent instead of 10.6 per cent.

We encourage Lamont to actually read our study, which clearly shows government employees receive higher wages than comparable workers in the private sector.